Jan van Beveren

Van Beveren was born on 5 March 1948 in Amsterdam, where he spent his first years. His father was Wil van Beveren (1911–2003), a sprinter who appeared at the 1936 Olympic Games, competing against Jesse Owens in the 200 metres event. His mother was a regional athlete. Van Beveren immediately started playing football as a goalkeeper at age 3 with his brother Wil (born 1945). Van Beveren was placed in the seventh squad of the under-14s, but his talent was recognized and he quickly rose through the youth ranks. He made his debut for Emmen's first team at age 15. == Club career ==

Sparta and PSV Eindhoven At Sparta, Van Beveren trained with coach Wiel Coerver, who turned out to be instrumental in his development. They would frequently hold training sessions together three times a day. Van Beveren reached the fifth place twice with Sparta and in his last season, that spot enabled them to enter the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. In 1970, the ambitious Van Beveren aimed for a bigger club, and Ajax, Feyenoord, Real Madrid and PSV Eindhoven tried to sign him. Real Madrid had to cancel the deal because the Spanish league was being closed for foreigners. Of the remaining clubs, only PSV managed to meet the financial demands from Sparta and Van Beveren, with the transfer fee being 1 million Guilder. In his first season, the team reached the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup, but were eliminated by Real Madrid. In the following years, Van Beveren established himself as PSV's first goalkeeper choice; in 1973 he signed a new seven-year contract with the club. Van Beveren had an unlucky start to the 1977–78 season when he collided with the woodwork in an exhibition match against Hapert, leaving him with a concussion. In the UEFA Cup final, Van Beveren kept a clean sheet in both matches. PSV won 3–0 on aggregate and Van Beveren lifted his first and only European trophy. An incident in 1978 motivated Van Beveren to leave the Netherlands. Throughout his international career, a public dispute between Van Beveren and Johan Cruyff resulted in the public siding with the latter and viewing Van Beveren's international retirement as a 'betrayal'. When he was asked to appear as a pundit for a 1978 FIFA World Cup national team match, the Dutch public broadcast channel received many threats aimed at Van Beveren, his property and his family. His television appearance was cancelled, and that night Van Beveren decided to leave the Netherlands for good. He remained at the club for three years, at the time competing in the North American Soccer League (NASL). Because of the demise of the NASL after the 1983 season, Van Beveren was left without a club. In April 1984, he went on to play in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) by joining the Dallas Sidekicks. Van Beveren was the first player ever to be signed by the newly founded Sidekicks. His first season was disappointing: he lost 22 of the 30 matches he appeared in, and the Sidekicks ended last in the league. In the 1985–86 season, he played three more games for the club, before being officially released in February 1986. == International career ==

After playing only 17 games at the highest level, Van Beveren debuted for the Netherlands national football team at age 19. For the 1974 World Cup, he played four qualification matches, but a groin injury sidelined him for the final matches. in 1971 Weeks before the World Cup, Van Beveren almost regained full fitness and he was tested by coach Rinus Michels in a friendly match against Hamburger SV. Van Beveren insisted on playing only one half, but Michels refused to give in to his demands and sent him home, later citing a "lack of character". Behind the scenes, Van Beveren faced a different issue. A problem emerged with the division of sponsorship money: for the World Cup, the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) decided to allocate a greater amount to Johan Cruyff, Johan Neeskens, Willem van Hanegem and Piet Keizer, leaving smaller amounts for the remaining team members. When Van Beveren found out, he informed the team. Subsequently, Cruyff pressured Michels and the KNVB to remove Van Beveren. The Cruyff clan, who were backed by then-coach George Knobel, proceeded to antagonize Van Beveren and the other PSV players. Some of them contemplated quitting the team, but Van Beveren persuaded them to stay. In October 1975, the Dutch team lost a first leg qualification match against Poland 4–1. In the aftermath, Cruyff publicly blamed the PSV players for the loss, while Van Beveren criticized Cruyff's superstar behavior: before the Poland match, Cruyff personally decided to arrive at the training session a few days late. When Cruyff showed up, Willy van der Kuijlen openly criticized his actions, prompting Cruyff to angrily approach Knobel. Cruyff forced him to choose between him or Van der Kuijlen and Van Beveren. Knobel sided with Cruyff and on 13 October, Van Beveren and Van der Kuijlen decided to leave the national team. in 1977 Van Beveren refused to play for the national team after these incidents and therefore missed UEFA Euro 1976. He only appeared once more for the national team. In 1977, coach Jan Zwartkruis convinced him to play in a qualifying match against Iceland. It turned out to be his last match in the national team; in the lead-up to the 1978 World Cup, Van Beveren was repeatedly benched during matches. When he approached Zwartkruis about his decisions, the coach responded with "Jan, I'm just being manipulated". It prompted him to announce his international retirement yet again. == Style of play ==

, his future teammate at PSV. Van Beveren was known as a goalkeeper who would seldom leave his direct goal area; he would rely on his reflexes to catch the ball once it was shot on target. == Post-career ==

After retiring, Van Beveren remained in Texas where he unsuccessfully tried a collectible postage stamp business. In December 1999, he was invited by Cruyff to play in the "Game of the Century"—a match between the Netherlands' best players ever and the best foreign players ever to have appeared in the Eredivisie. Tributes were held by the Spindletop Select players two days later. PSV Eindhoven commemorated Van Beveren during the Eredivisie match between PSV and NAC Breda in December 2011. That day, a sculpture of Van Beveren was also revealed at the Philips Stadion. On 26 August 1968 Van Beveren married Petra Warringa. == Awards and honours ==

trophy in 1976 Club ; PSV Eindhoven • Eredivisie (3): 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78 • KNVB Cup (2): 1973–74, 1975–76 • UEFA Cup (1): 1977–78 == Career statistics ==

Club International ==Notes and references==